Thursday, November 4, 2010

One of the most common mistakes people make is with the walls. Hanging things on the walls can be hard to master. If you're like me, you end up putting 5 holes in the wall before you actually get the picture where you want it. But, how do you know where you want to put it? I am going to give you all a lesson in the scale of your art and where on the wall to put it.

A great way to learn is through others mistakes. Thank you bad picture hangers for allowing me to flaunt your inabilities through our public platform.

This art is too small. When hanging over a piece of furniture, the art should be about the same width of the furniture. If you have a collage it should also extend to be the same width as the furniture as well.

Although very cute, this collage doesn't really belong there. It looks out of place with that small bench beneath. Would've looked better without the bench and basket.

Very nice bedroom but the art is hung too high. When hanging art, the center of the piece should hit between 58" and 62".

Again very cute but the art is wider than the furniture piece it is supposed to be complimenting. To fix this, they could easily add chairs on both sides or lamps. Something to even out the scale.

The larger piece is hung too high and it is too small to be alone on that wall.

This is too high and the chest is really too small for this wall and then with whatever that really tall thing is on it makes everything way off scale. Would look better with a larger piece of furniture on this wall.

Way too small and hung poorly.

This would be really cool if it was hung a little bit lower and it was centered with the couch. Very close to being right.

Way too small.

Too big to be hung over this table. Needs something narrower.

These are hung too low and too far apart.

These are hung too high and are a little on the small side to go over the couch. I typically like to see a larger piece of art behind the sofa rather than a collage of smaller pictures because it is hard for people to see them. If you hang a collage of smaller pictures make sure it is in a place where people can walk up to them and see them.

This is art overload. There is no intention here and it just looks messy.

This piece is too big for this wall. It makes the room look crowded.

Let's take a look at some rooms that got the art right:

Just the right scale and height.

Great size for above the sofa

Get creative and hang art on your bookshelves

This is a great example of a collage over the sofa. Each piece is substantial enough to see from the other side of sofa.

Some rules to follow:

1. Hang pictures at a 58"-62" center

2. When hanging over furniture, art should be about the same width as piece. It can be smaller if you have lamps or other tall things on the piece, but it cannot extend past the furniture.

3. Make sure the art is the correct scale for the wall. For a large wall you will need a larger piece of art.

4. Make it intentional. You don't have to hang something on every wall in every spot. Hang what you want to be noticed to be a focal point.

5. When hanging a group of pictures, don't hang them too far apart. You should typically have the space between them be about a quarter of the width of the picture you are hanging.

6. Use the correct hardware when hanging your pictures so they won't be crooked. It is best to hang them from two corner points than just one middle.

Just like most rules, there are always exceptions.

This art extends past the table but it works with the chairs. However, if the chairs are removed the table will look dinky with all that large art above it.

A cool way to hang art low.

More art hung at different heights. Very low and very high but very elegant looking.

A cool way for art to be hung lower to a furniture piece and have things in front of it.

Art hung super high but wow, what a cool room. You can tell it is very intentional and has a design. The hanging placement of the art becomes art.

Art that is hung as an accessory to what's on the desk. Now, if you were to move the lamp and other things it wouldn't work but it looks really good like this.

Normally a picture this size would be way too big right here but it looks great. There are always exceptions!

I love this art wall. It is so unusual!

Try hanging other things besides just pictures for art. These retro clocks look awesome in a collage together.

Framed vintage handkerchiefs make a beautiful art piece.

According to out professional framer and picture hanger, Nancy Jennings, the most common mistake she sees is not hanging art at the right height. She also says to make sure and use the correct hardware for your piece.